Mortal and Generic Minor Template Creation
Vanilla Mortals For the most part, mortals work per the creation rules in Chronicles of Darkness. Supernatural Merits Mortals with no templates at all may purchase Supernatural merits as well as any others listed among the various books as mortal only. However, do note that these merits are NEVER considered to be "psychic" in origin in the Neolithic era; they might be thought to be caused by the magic of the Wise, the blood of a spirit flowing within someone, or the blessing of a god, but it's generally never assumed to be developed entirely internally. Integrity Mortal characters are used to magic and the supernatural in the Neolithic era. The results of it can still shake them, but they're slightly more expectant of it, and so gain a +2 bonus on any Breaking Points relating to witnessing or experiencing supernatural phenomena. This does NOT apply to being the target of hostile supernatural effects. General Minor Templates General minor templates are those that are attached to the core Chronicles of Darkness, rather than a given game line. Those that are allowed here will be linked or referenced below. Psychic Vampires These may be played as PCs; their rules are currently in playtest [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X_eASK_Zmfa9rvbrw0RR56iHvVNSCEoxOqTDiQWnWyY/edit here]. They follow the same creation rules as mortals beyond what's listed there. In general, they're not called 'psychic' vampires so much as they're likely to be equated to breath stealers or parasites that simply can steal life force by touch. Those few psychic vampires that have another minor template may ONLY choose supernatural merits made available in the document above, but those without another template may take other supernatural merits as normal. Skin-Thieves Skin-Thieves are treated as a minor template in this era. They're humans that have been touched by Pangea, proving their place as predators by hunting down a creature, whether spirit, animal, or something else entirely, and taking its form from them. Far from the usual modern view of this as a blasphemy or taboo, such humans are highly respected among the Uratha and other denizens of the Border Marches. However, they often find it difficult to retain a place among the more civilized People. Template Abilities Skin-Thieves start with 5 dots of the Skin-Thief merit, from Dark Eras pg 248, and may purchase the merit as high as they wish. It's assumed they have the skin of their choice already made at creation, which doesn't need to be paid for if taken then (this makes permanent skins an attractive option; this is on purpose, as it's meant to be the norm). In addition, they age more slowly than most people, about half speed after they've hit adulthood, so long as they have a "working" skin at any given time, and add their rating in the merit to any rolls to resist mundane toxins or diseases, and half of it (round down) to resist supernatural versions of the same. As a general guideline, most mundane animals of less than size 7 are reasonable skins to start out with, as are spirit skins built to be Rank 2 or less. With Storyteller permission, aspects for Skin-Thieves from the 1st edition supplement may be converted to potential merit purchases. Similarly, other Supernatural merits can be taken if they make sense for the Skin Thief's alternative form (unless that have a second template that prevents it). Experience Costs